PANAMA CITY, PANAMA — A fuel tanker explosion sent a massive fireball up the side of the Bridge of the Americas near the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal on Monday, killing one person, hospitalizing two firefighters with second-degree burns, and forcing the closure of one of the region’s most critical crossings.
The blaze started in one truck before spreading to other vehicles, Panama fire chief Col. Ángel Delgado said. Two tankers capable of holding between 5,000 and 10,000 gallons of fuel each were damaged in the fire. Authorities confirmed the person killed was carrying out fuel supply work at the time of the explosion. Around 50 fire crews responded. It took approximately three hours to bring the fire under control.
Footage shared online showed orange flames shooting up the side of the bridge and thick black smoke billowing into the sky, coming perilously close to other vehicles on the roadway.
The Bridge of the Americas, which opened in 1962 and cost $20 million to construct, closed following the incident and was scheduled for inspection Tuesday. Panama President José Raúl Mulino warned commuters would face significant disruptions getting to work Tuesday and called on businesses to take necessary measures. “Let us hope to return to normalcy as soon as possible,” Mulino wrote on X.
Aviation authorities briefly considered suspending operations at Panama City’s Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport due to smoke visibility concerns but ultimately decided against it.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
